You are busy applying for jobs, you are checking out job postings and you have practiced answering interview questions you found on-line. Then why are you feeling so stressed?

Here are three things that create stress and how to fix them.

You don’t have a plan. You know you want (or need) a job, but you are not clear what you want to do. If you have an “I’ll take any job” attitude, you make it harder. If you do not know what job you should have, how will a future employer?

You are not focused. You are “Spraying and Praying,” hoping if you send out enough resumes, someone will want you. Spending time researching specific industries and specific companies in areas you want to work will yield faster results. Learning about the companies will give you confidence and questions you can ask during the interview. The more focused you are, the easier it is for an employer to see you in their company.

You live in the moment. Finding work is work. You get overly excited when you get a call. You are on a high because “you know you’ll get the job.” You stop all job search efforts. When the phone interview doesn’t result in an in-person interview, you crash down and have to begin all over again. Staying the course and setting daily, weekly and even monthly goals help keep the highs and lows in check.

Reduce job search stress now by developing a plan, focusing on your target companies, and conducting your job search for the long haul. The more you do this, the sooner you will hear “you’re hired.”

I just received an urgent phone call. The voice at the other end of the line told me that one of my managers had suffered a massive heart attack and passed away overnight. I was stunned.

Having just spoken with him yesterday, I was trying to remember the last words we shared. I hope they were positive. They were probably work related.

We did have discussions about things other than work. He enjoyed talking with his fellow employees about their latest adventures. He was always genuinely thankful to have the position. His family had been in the printing business, and when they sold it, he came to work with me.

His favorite saying, when asked to do something, was “whatever you need”. I’m going to miss that.

After I post this, I think I will give each of my children a call and tell them that I love them.

There are times when wanting to get out of a situation seems like the only thing that matters. “Just get me out of this job”. And the consequences? You’ll “cross that bridge when you come to it“. So something happens at work that you see as the last straw and you decide to quit, to give notice, to say “take this job and shove it”.

However you may feel on the inside,when you finally make the decision to leave, you must do it on good terms.

Don’t be the person who:

Failed to give proper notice

Slacked off after you gave your notice

Talked trash about those in the office you never got along with

Called out sick two days before your last day (but went clothes shopping for your new job)

Failed to thank those that mentored or helped you

At the time, you may feel justified in doing these things. Later, you may find that things aren’t as great in the new company and those problems you had with your previous job seem smaller and smaller. Now what do you do?

If you pulled any or all of the five things above, your chances of getting your old job back are pretty much slim to none. Leaving on good terms sets up a safety net. And if they can’t re-hire you, they can and will give you a positive recommendation, perhaps even a contact they know is hiring.

Don’t let getting out of the job at any cost cloud your vision of how you should leave. Keep your bridges in good repair instead of burning them. You never know when you’ll need to cross one.

RIP Davy Jones, Monkee Extraordinaire (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)Davy Jones, the British-born singer-actor who was frontman for the Monkees from the show’s beginning in 1966 and continued in that role, died in Florida at age 66. Initial reports indicate Jones suffered a heart attack at his ranch.

I had just gotten off the phone with one of my employees who suffered a heart attack at work when I heard the news about Davy Jones. Last week I had an employee out for an operation. The week before that, it was an employee going for a cancer screening.

Let’s face it, for any business to survive, we need healthy employees. Employees who can perform at their peak when the job calls for it. As managers, we need to know the health of our workforce as much as we need to understand the financial health of our business. Here are three quick checks:

1. What is the average age of your workforce? Craig Juengling, The E2 Coach, said in a recent blog post that there are four common age groupings in many companies: Gen Xer, Millennial, Boomer and Mature. Take a look at your workforce and understand where you stand

2. How much sick time do you pay? Things happen. Reviewing this will help you spot trends. But be careful how you draw conclusions as many employees use sick time for purposes other than what an employer had in mind.

3. How many Workers Comp claims do you have? Reviewing this (and by law, most of you had to post this in January) will highlight what your specific company issues are so you can focus training programs to address them.

Jones death was sudden and unexpected. Things will happen at your company that are sudden and unexpected. While the health of an employee can change in a moment, the health of your company evolves slowly, over time. You can make an impact on the health of your business, but first you must know where you stand.

NFL football is a business in the end. Stadiums are built, apparel is licensed and tickets are scalped for the big games. And when a business like the NFL mounts a huge year-ending project, such as the Super Bowl, it is easy for management and staff to take the whole thing very seriously.

As any business undertakes a major product launch or restructuring or adds new locations there is a natural tendency to bear down, to stay focused until the job is done. The extra stress associated with the responsibility is a good thing; up to a point. Finding appropriate releases for that stress is crucial to the long term health of the individual and ultimately the success of the project, whether it is a new product launch or this year’s Super Bowl.

Even during the worst times of the civil war, President Lincoln understood he had to keep the mood light. When challenged about Ulysses S. Grant being a drunkard, Lincoln famously said, “Find out what whiskey he drinks and send all my generals a case, if it will get the same result”.

My advice then, while you’re painting your face and getting the nachos ready for tomorrow’s game, is to find ways to relieve stress at work. Or, maybe painting you face and dressing in licensed sports apparel is your way of relieving stress!